


Chick Beam

by xszsx



Series: Harvest Moon: Generations [1]
Category: Harvest Moon
Genre: Adventure, Attempt at Humor, Cliche, Death, Eventual Romance, F/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Sarcasm, Sick Character, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-30
Updated: 2015-03-20
Packaged: 2018-03-09 16:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3256109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xszsx/pseuds/xszsx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jill is the sickly daughter of the famous farmer and hero of Leaf Valley, Jack (given name Toy). Sick of being sheltered, she sets off to live with her twin brother, Jack Jr., in Forget-Me-Not Valley, and in doing so starts her many adventures. In this new town, she discovers magic and a seemingly impossible mission that she's determined to complete. But, the new phantom thief, Skye, may be one of the greatest and many things standing in the way to her success and fulfillment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I woke up to the sound of silence. The back of my ears hurt, and I removed the giant headphones I had over them. I keep them on during thunderstorms, playing loud music to block out the booming noises that prevent me from sleeping.

Ever since I was a little girl, I hated thunder. I like the rain, but not thunder. There's really no particular reason, I just hate the loud noises . . . it sounds like there are bombs going off. I just want to sleep, and the headphones' pressure on my ears makes them hurt for a while in the morning. So, naturally, I don't like thunderstorms. It's not some weird deeper meaning. It's just me being too sensitive.

I massaged my aching ears, stretching as I awoke more. Although this sounds contradictory, the silence was too loud now, ringing around in my ears and piercing my brain.

I rang my bell beside my bed and waited for about a minute before my chambermaid/godmother, Gina, arrived.

"Good morning, Jill. Did you get enough sleep?" the teal haired woman asked. I nodded in response. She had a pretty good complexion for her age, but her stress was showing through her white-streaked hair. She wasn't that old. She came over to where I was standing in my nightgown, a robe in her hand, and shooed my hands away from where they were starting the undressing process.

"No, no, dear, you must not strain yourself. I tell you this every morning," she chided. I sighed as she helped me to undress, feeling like a helpless little girl. There was no point arguing, every morning I tried but she would never hear any of it. It wasn't just my father that treated me like a little china doll, but almost everyone who knew me—it was tiring. I guess they couldn't help feeling that way when even a common cold could potentially kill me.

Gina folded my nightgown, placing it on my bed, and put the fluffy cotton robe on my almost bare body. I put on my slippers and headed into the bathroom connected to my room, where Gina was drawing a bath for me. I went into the water closet in the bathroom and relieved myself while she set up the aromatherapy. I washed my hands before getting into the bath, having to be extra careful with cleanliness.

Gina took off my robe and helped me into the steaming water almost overflowing with lavender scented bubbles. I started to lie down with her help, and put my back against the soft towel laid out at the edge of the tub, floating in the water. Gina patted my head, smiling, and left me alone for my bath. I sighed as I lay there, letting the bubbles crackle around my naked body.

This was one of the only times I could be alone in this stupid villa, and I relished in the momentary freedom from fussing.

Gina called the time for me to get out of the bath too soon. I had begun to snooze off a little, though, so I guess it was for the best. Gina came in and helped me dry off quickly, then slipped on my robe for me while she got my clothes. I put my cold feet into the slippers to free them from the glacial grasp of the hard tile. Gina came back quickly with a cream-colored dress with flower designs. She took off my robe and replaced it with the dress, which ended about mid-thigh on me. Gina led me back over to my bedroom where she sat me down in an armchair with a footstool, going to retrieve some socks and shoes. She came back with white thigh-highs and brown slip-ons with a strap across the width of the shoes, putting them on me carefully.

I sighed and thanked Gina, heading downstairs to eat quickly. Gina was right behind me, and headed straight for the kitchen to prepare food. I sat at the dining room table, still feeling a little drowsy, and dozed off a little.

"Jill, did you really get enough sleep?" Gina startled me into a straight-up position, and I smiled wryly.

"I'm just a little restless from the storm," I replied. Gina nodded and set down a bowl of nasty, tasteless porridge. She also set a bowl of fruit, which I was tremendously thankful for. Gina went back into the kitchen to set out the rest of the food, and then sat beside me to eat. I ate pretty slowly, repulsed by the bland dish I had to choke down with only the help of some blueberries and strawberries.

Gina finished rather quickly, and immediately picked up the dishes to wash them. I forced down the rest of my food, and brought my dishes to the kitchen to be washed. I tried to rinse them, but Gina took them away quickly. I sighed and left to go check the mail box for any letters from my brother. I peered inside, and smiled as I saw a white envelope. I looked at the front, and smiled even wider when I saw Jack's name on it. I went back inside, opening the letter as I went.

I sat down in an armchair while I read Jack's brief letter.

"Hey Pony,

How's Dad doing? How are you doing? I'm doing okay, I suppose. Farming is a lot harder than Dad made it seem. I'm still awesome at it, though. . . just less awesome than I thought I would be. Whatever, you should still come visit (with Dad and Gina, of course). They've gotta let you come visit for our birthday. And when they tell you that I should just come visit you guys, tell them I sprained my ankle, or something. I want you guys to see my farm. Anyway, I don't really know what else to write. There really isn't much going on here. That's why I need you guys over here to help relieve my boredom. Oh and so I can gloat in my overwhelming success. Ha. You better come soon!

P.S. seriously come soon"

I set down the letter on my lap, wanting to leave this place even more. Jack was such an idiot. I got up, put the letter in my dress pocket, and told Gina I was going to visit the horses at Gwen and Bob's. She chuckled and waved at me.

"Always coddling those ponies, aren't you?"

I hurried to Starling Ranch, running through the plaza in case my father decided to come back from the ranch for a moment and spotted me. He didn't really like me running about just to go see some dirty horses.

I arrived at the wide plot of land, Gwen racing one of her horses around the track. She was going crazy fast, doing some jumps along the way. I clapped as her horse's galloping slowed into a canter, then a trot, then a walk, until she appeared right in front of me. I recognized the horse almost right away. The big white star in the middle of her head gave her away as the simple Pony. Gwen had let me name her right after she was born. That was her first mistake.

Her second mistake was letting me ride her. I was awful.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, Pony," I said, patting the horse's star. The horse was breathing heavily, not paying much attention to me.

"Hi Jill," Gwen breathed, her breathing matching the horse's. I smiled at her.

"Hello," I said. Gwen hopped off of Pony's back, patting the horse's sides to tell her she had done well. I grabbed the reins, leading Pony to her stall. Gwen followed, drinking from the water bottle she had left behind next to a fence post. I led Pony inside the hay-ridden stall, taking off the bridle, saddle, blanket, and girth. I put everything away and started brushing Pony as Gwen fanned herself, sitting down in a chair next to the stalls.

"How's Jack? Your father, I mean," Gwen said. I looked over at her and shrugged.

"I only see him at dinner nowadays, when he's super tired from trying to maintain the farm all day every day," I said. Gwen made a disapproving sound.

"He's so uptight these days. . ." she said, leaning back in her chair. I bit my lip and kept brushing Pony, who was now drinking water. We stayed in silence for a minute, before Bob came booming in.

"Hey Jill! Great to see you! Gwen, mind helping me out collecting some eggs?" Gwen's husband towered over her seated form, smiling as he always did. Gwen sighed slightly.

"Okay, just gimme a sec," Gwen said, waving him off a little. Bob went back whence he came, and Gwen opened one eye to look at me.

"Don't ever get married," she said, fanning herself again. I chuckled.

"Hey, Gwen, what do you think I should give my brother for his birthday?"

"Nothing," she offered. I laughed a little.

"Thanks for the help."

"No, seriously. You guys have the same birthday, it's weird to give each other gifts, isn't it?"

"No."

"Ha, whatever," she said. She got up and came over to lean on the stall door.

"Make him his favorite food, or something," she said, shrugging. I rolled my eyes.

"No one would let me near a kitchen," I said. They were afraid I would stab myself with a butter knife, or something. Gwen huffed a little.

"I'm not exactly a great mind for browsing gift ideas. Anyway, I gotta go help Bob out. Feel free to try and ride a horse," she said, smiling. I snorted. I did not want to fall again. Not only had it hurt, but it had made my dad flip out, even though I only had a couple of scratches. I couldn't tell him it was from riding a horse, or he would never let me ride again. I just told him I simply fell.

I left the stall, closing the gate behind me, and decided to just lean on the gate and stare at Pony. She came over to me and nudged my face, asking for a treat, so I went to get a couple of sugar cubes and held my hand under her mouth as she sucked them up into her mouth. I wiped my hand on a towel hanging next to the stall, patting Pony when I was done.

"You did a good job, Pony," I said. I hugged her, snuggling into her neck. It smelled dusty, even from all the brushing. I let go after a little while, Pony shaking her head a little and doing the weird little shiver horses do. I patted her twice on the head, then decided to leave the barn. I walked out, shutting one of the doors and leaving the other open, and decided to head over to the chicken coop to see if Gwen and Bob needed help. On my way over, I stopped.

I felt something stir inside of me. It was so sudden, but so strong. Totally out of the blue and weird, but I was so sick of this boring life. Doing the same things over again. I couldn't do this anymore. I felt motivation slowly fill me up like a cup, out of nowhere, leaving me standing there, biting my lip in a hesitation that had only been fleeting before. I changed direction, heading back to the Square.

I ran until I reached the platform, hopping onto it and stopping in the middle of the giant red and white pattern. I looked around, stopping as I spotted the path leading to the Grocery Store. I took in a deep breath as I jumped off of the platform, walking onto the path right in front of me. I kept walking straight until I saw Ronald's store.

I turned right, hesitating as I did so. I walked forward, ignoring the sign that held the ranch's name. I walked past the two giant buildings on either side of me, the giant field of crops just ahead. When I reached the edge of the field, I looked for my father. I saw him tilling at the far end of the field, and I went around to talk to him. He didn't see or hear me at all, making what I was about to do a little easier. I could still back out now. But I wouldn't. For some reason.

"Father," I said, quieter than I had meant to. He didn't seem to hear me, so I cleared my throat and tried again, his back to me.

"Father," I tried again, my voice cracking. My father stiffened, turning around and looking at me.

"Jill. . . what are you doing here? Where's Gina?" he asked. He looked torn between being concerned and angry.

"Um, I wanted to talk to you. Well, no, actually, I came to tell you something," I said. I was messing with my dress a little, a nervous habit I had when talking to my father.

"I-I. . . I'm leaving. Here. Right now. . . or, um, soon. Yeah. I'm going to go live with my brother. A-and y-you can't stop me. Okay? I'm not going to be sheltered anymore," I held my breath as my father stared at me, silent. I tried really hard not to look away, wanting to appear strong and, hopefully, independent. My father took off his gloves, folding them as he took in a deep breath.

"Um. . . Jill, dear, why in the world would you want to leave? I mean, not only is it extremely dangerous for you, it's simply out of the question. You can't possibly take care of yourself, what with all the needs you have. I mean, perhaps we can discuss you living by yourself in Leaf Valley, but Forget-Me-Not? No. No. Forget it. All you would have was your irresponsible brother. You'd end up seriously hurt there, possibly even dead," my father continued lecturing me, only causing my determination, and honestly, anger, to grow.

"I'm not going to die there if I go," I interrupted. "I mean, I might one day, but not from neglect. And most certainly not from simply taking care of a few plants and animals. Please, Father, this is no longer up for discussion. I'm leaving to go live with Jack. He needs my help. Desperately. He's my brother, and I will help him whenever he needs it. Now, we can make this goodbye end on either a good note, or a bad note. I personally don't want to leave on a bad note, so I will stay at the house today to wait for you to come to terms with my decision and so that you can see me off without any anger."

My father tried to talk more, but I held up a hand.

"I'll see you later, okay? I'll still be here, I promise," I walked off, glad that my father didn't follow.


	3. Chapter 3

I decided to run back home, feeling rash. When I went inside, panting, Gina came over to me quickly and fussed over me in a great panic. I waved her off.

"I'm fine, Gina. I just decided to run a little," honestly I felt like I was going to collapse. I've never run so much before. I suppose it was the adrenaline that boosted me so much.

"Why in the world would you run all the way here from the stables?" she asked.

"I didn't run from the stables, I ran from the farm," I said, still panting, making my way to the kitchen for water. Gina beat me to it, leading me to a chair as she spoke.

"You went to your father's farm? You know he doesn't like you going out alone. Why would you do such a thing?" she asked. She went into the kitchen and quickly got me some water.

"I was telling him that I was leaving," Gina froze in the doorway on her way back.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"I want to go help out my brother," I said. Gina walked over, giving me the water.

"Oh . . . well, I suppose that isn't too bad. But I still don't think it's a very good idea. And we'll have to talk to your doctor about it, too. He'll have to clear you before you can go," she said, looking a little dejected.

"But, I know that adventures like these are important when you are young. So I'll try and help you to make sure this one stays safe, alright, dear?" she continued, hugging me. I hugged her back.

"Thanks Gina," I said. I finished off the water and she took it back into the kitchen.

"I'm going to wait for dad to come home," I said, walking off to the sitting room to read.

"I'll go ahead and call the doctor, then," she responded. I left the house instead, deciding to say my good-byes to everyone, including Pony. I then went home and did what I originally said I would do, reading for the rest of the afternoon, excited about visiting my brother's farm and reading up on plants and animals. Gina brought me my pills and some water while I was deep into a book about what crops belonged to each season. I quickly gulped down the handful of medicine, and Gina patted me on the head in a way she hadn't done since I was much younger. I smiled at her.

"The doctor said that he'll be here tonight. You're lucky he was already traveling this way," Gina said. She kissed me on the top of my head. I thanked her, going back to my books. I continued reading for about an hour when my father walked in quietly.

I looked up from my book, waiting for him to come into the room. I heard Gina greet him, and they talked quietly for a minute. Then, I heard his footsteps draw nearer. My pulse raced as my stomach flipped, resuming its acrobatics from earlier today. My father stepped into the room, looking sad.

"Hello, Father," I said, careful and quiet. My father walked towards me and knelt down right next to me.

"Oh, Jill. My sweet, sweet Jill. . ."

I waited, holding my breath and biting my lip.

"I could never have you hate me for pulling you back from living your life the way that you want. I know I must've been a terribly overbearing father, protecting you as much as I did. And I regret that, especially because my own father was that way . . . and I had promised myself I would always be better. But after . . . after your mother died . . . and you had the same condition that had helped her death. . . I. . . I just. . . I couldn't help it, Jill, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," my father started crying. I just stared at him, taken aback, not knowing what to do. Eventually, I put my book to the side, and took him in my arms.

"Dad. . . I. . . I'm sorry. I'm sorry," I whispered lamely. I felt kind of awkward saying it, but it was all I could think to say. I'd never really been one for heart-to-heart moments, even if this one wasn't some intense revelation. It was still some digging up of buried feelings, though, and therefore contained a heaviness I wasn't experienced with.

"U-um. . ." I continued.

"I. . . I'm sorry you've been through this. . . I'm sure you must've felt really lonely. . ." I tried. My father chuckled a little, pulling back. He brushed my hair to the side.

"Oh, Jill," was his simple response, neither denying nor confirming the statement. I couldn't help it, I let a few tears slip.

"Dad. . ." I whispered, drawing him in for a hug. Gina came over and stroked my back. Suddenly, the door knocked. Gina bustled away almost immediately. My father and I parted. My father got up, looking towards the door. A few seconds later, the doctor walked in.

"Hello, Dr. Hardy," my father said when the cyborg-eyed doctor appeared. He grunted in response. I loved the old fart. He was a smart but simple man, one of the best doctors to ever live, and one of the best money could buy, which my parents collectively had an abundance of. My mother had left behind a hefty fortune and my father made an incredible amount of fortune himself.

The famous Dr. Hardy, with his amusing red and white Bermuda shorts, shuffled over in his strappy flip-flops over to me.

"So, Jill. I hear you're wishing to be a rebel and run away from home," he said, a slight joking tone to the otherwise serious voice. He almost always talked in that joking, gruff voice. I chuckled in response.

"I wish to visit my brother, and hopefully set up a permanent residence," I said. He nodded.

"Yes, yes. That irresponsible twin of yours. I don't know how he's still alive, that one. But I would like to check up on your condition before you set off on this new endeavor," he said, taking out some of his tools. He had some of the best stuff that only tons of money could buy, them being the most advanced gadgets. He checked all of my vitals.

"You are starting to develop signs of a fever, but all you need of course is some ibuprofen. Other than that, I don't see any immediate problems that would hinder your journey," Dr. Hardy said. I squealed a little, hugging him. He grunted.

"Thank you, Dr. Hardy!" I said, smiling. He scoffed.

"Don't think you're getting off this easy, though. You know full well that a fever can quickly become dangerous, and that you still require constant care. Also, Forget-Me-Not Valley is on the opposite side of Abra Island, meaning it will force me to change my schedule. It is closer to other towns, though, especially Mineral Town, which would help me out. So, you shall travel with me. I am moving to Forget-Me-Not with you."

"What?" I blurted out

"I'm sure it will also help your father and godmother with peace of mind," he said, putting his stuff away.

"We shall leave in the morning," he said, starting to walk away.

"That is, if you still want to go," he looked back at me. I jumped up.

"U-um, yes. Yes! Of course. I was just caught off guard, is all," I said. Dr. Hardy nodded.

"Very well, start packing. I'll pick you up at seven in the morning tomorrow," he did a quick salute, nodding to my father and Gina. I smiled widely.

"Let's go pack, Jill," Gina said, holding out her hand to me. I ran over to her, and we made our way up the stairs together.

I could barely sleep that night from all of the excitement. I couldn't believe I would be able to finally leave this place, and see my brother again. Gina came in to officially wake me up at six, giving me enough time to do my aromatherapy. I floated through the process thoughtlessly and rather quickly, sprinting downstairs to eat breakfast right after Gina put on my dress. My father was already sitting at the table, smiling as he saw me come in. I ran over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning, Jill," he said quietly. I sat down next him. He was looking at the pamphlet Jack had received when he had decided to move to Forget-Me-Not. Gina quickly got us some breakfast as we sat in silence, my father continuing to just stare at the pamphlet. She set down the porridge and berries in front of me and even my father. He didn't mind the flavorless meal, and even refused to eat any berries with them. Gina sat down along with us and we all ate in what I thought was a comfortable silence. Soon, before I had finished, the knock I had been waiting for sounded on the door. I jumped up and raced over, swinging the large door open with more difficulty than I liked to admit.

"Dr. Hardy!" I exclaimed, excited.

"Hush, girl," he said, stepping in to the house.

"I hope you're already prepared," he said, looking at his watch, then at me, with an eyebrow raised. I nodded.

"Gina! Father!" I called. They came in soon after. Gina smiled and went up to get my suitcases with my dad. I waited downstairs with Dr. Hardy.

"So how long does it take to get to the valley, exactly?" I asked. Dr. Hardy smirked.

"Only a couple of hours," he said. I made a disapproving noise.

"I didn't think Abra was that big," I said, a little worried. Gina and my father came downstairs. I looked up at them, feeling a pang of sadness.

"Alright, that's all of it I think," Gina said, setting down the two suitcases she had in her hands. She was much stronger than she looked. My father set down my third and biggest suitcase, still the stronger of the two.

"Just bring that out to the car," Dr. Hardy said. They both nodded. I followed them all outside where the car was parked on the dirt trail. It was something I had only seen a handful of times, most of those occasions only in pictures. The suitcases were piled into the back. Dr. Hardy nodded, then patted my father on the back.

"Don't worry, Toy. I'll look after her even more than I have for all these years," the doctor said. Gina started sniffling. My father just looked at me sadly, and then hugged me tightly.

"Okay, Jill. You know how hard this is for me so just get on out of here and write a lot, okay? I'll have faith in you that you'll take care of yourself and your brother. And don't ever hesitate to ask for help, alright?" he kissed me on the forehead. I almost hated to admit it, but I was way too excited to cry. But I knew the tears would most likely hit hard later on.

"I'll try my best, Father," I said simply. He nodded and nudged me forward to Gina. She proceeded to hug me as well.

"Take care of yourself and your brother, baby girl," she muttered, kissing me on the cheek. I giggled a little, pulling away. Dr. Hardy started the car. I took that as my cue to get into the car. I opened the passenger side, sitting down quickly. I rolled down the window as we started driving away, waving.

"I love you!" I called out. We were out of the town within minutes. We ended up in the absolute middle of nowhere very soon. Dr. Hardy had turned on the radio to some weird music I didn't really like. It was all loud and had lots of screaming, or something. I decided I didn't have any control over the music choice, though. We drove for quite a while before I almost inevitably fell asleep, especially when I was listening to music I couldn't help but tune out.

I woke up suddenly and groggily, the car still moving, but over some very bumpy roads.

"Sorry," Dr. Hardy grumbled. I didn't answer, cranky from the sudden jolt. I just leered out into the bright world as we bumped along the uneven gravel.

"Where are we?" I muttered.

"Just outside of Mineral Town, so about twenty minutes away from your brother's farm," he replied. I made a sound of acknowledgement. After a couple of minutes bumping around, the road flattened out just a little more as we rolled in through a small town with a welcome sign reading "Mineral Town". It was a cute little village full of little cottages that only slightly varied in size and style. It took only a few more minutes to get to the outskirts of the town, where what seemed to be an abandoned farm lay.

"How many farms are abandoned like this?" I asked. Dr. Hardy scoffed.

"As generations get lazier, farming gets harder," he simply replied. I rolled my eyes a little.

"Uh-huh," I said. There had to be something beyond just laziness of the people, right?

We drove onto a mountain that had the sign "Mother's Hill Summit", into a road that seemed to circle the giant landmark. I marveled at the new and beautiful sight. I had never seen such a big mountain or hill or whatever it was. It took a rather long time to get around, causing me to dose off a little bit. We were soon on yet another bumpy road, jostling me awake once more. I shook my head, trying to clear it. It wasn't much longer until we rolled up to another sign, only this one said "Forget-Me-Not Valley". The entrance to the town was right next to a hill, and in front of us was a giant farm. It was absolutely beautiful, full of rows upon rows of crops. There were a couple of quaint little huts sitting next to the fields, and I could see yet another field, and even a greenhouse right next to them.

"Wow, my brother's been doing much better than he said he was," I said. Dr. Hardy scoffed.

"Oh, I've checked on your brother on a number of occasions. He most certainly is doing worse than he said he was."

I looked at the doctor, confused. Then, we drove past the farm entirely and onto a small wooden bridge over a little river.

"Oh my goddess, how bad is it?" I asked, full of worry. Had he been lying about taking over a farm just to please my father, or something? Was he actually some sort of bum just living from house to house or inn to inn and too proud to go back home for help? Not that there was anything for him to proud of, the little idiot.

We turned onto a hill full of trees acting as some sort of fence. I could see the sad looking new farm after a few seconds, groaning as I saw how awful it looked. I'd never seen anything like it. And we had a father who was a wonderful farmer. Jack had visited and played on our farm millions of times.

"Oh my goddess," I said. I was going to have to live in this hell-hole? I was starting to regret my decision to come. We stopped in front of a very small and pink cabin with an odd circular roof. Honestly, it looked more like some sort of barn than a house. On the right side, there was what appeared to be a very small and fragile-looking chicken coop and even farther right, there was a brown wooden cabin. On the left of the pink cabin, there was a little pond with rocks lining it.

We got out of the car. I walked with trepidation to the door as Dr. Harvey took out a couple of suitcases. I looked back, and then decided to run over and help, taking one of the three. We put them down by the door, and he knocked for me. We stood there, but there was no response. I decided to just open the door and set the little dolt straight, but a quick glance around showed that nobody was there.

What the hell?

I sighed.


	4. Chapter 4

"Where is he, do you think?" I asked Dr. Hardy. He had said he had visited my brother before. Dr. Hardy's eyes narrowed.

"I think I might know," he said. We walked out of the small cabin, going back down the path we had driven on. We were heading towards the very small town.

"By the way, Jill, I live right here," Dr. Hardy said as he pointed at a small house right off of my brother's property. I nodded.

"Well, I'm not going to be missing you any time soon," I said. We walked forward past what a sign said was the inn. Right across the path from it, there was a bar. I followed Dr. Hardy to the bar, groaning as we headed for the door.

"Are you serious?" I asked. We walked through, a bell ringing.

"Welcome to the Blue Bar!" a peppy blonde girl called. I blanched at the sight of my brother sleeping at the bar. I strode over to him.

"Jack Pete Jr. you are in so much trouble, oh my goddess!" I exclaimed as I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him up. He looked at me with shot, startled eyes. I slapped the idiot, which I knew wouldn't hurt very much coming from me, but it would be enough to get the message through and wake him up some more.

"My goddess, Jack, what the hell have you been doing all these months?" I asked, exasperated. The girl behind the bar squeaked.

"Um, is everything alright?" she asked quietly. I glanced over at her.

"No," I snapped. I immediately felt bad as the poor girl shrunk back, nodding quickly and running into the door that lead to some other room in the back. Poor thing seemed nice enough. I would have to make sure I excused myself later. I looked back at Jack, leaning closer as I pulled at the fistful of his shirt.

"Look what you made me do," I whispered, agitated. Jack just blinked slowly, eyes glassy and breath reeking, dried drool on his chin.

"Jack! Answer me, dammit!" it hurt to think he had been wasting away all this time and hadn't asked for more help. The way he had written in his letters, it just sounded like he couldn't get the hang of milking cows or getting the right seeds for the season or something trivial like that. But this was something entirely different. He couldn't get anything right. What an idiot. I sighed.

"Doctor, could you help me get Jack to his house?" I asked. Dr. Hardy nodded, doing as I requested. We hobbled over with the drunken Jack, taking much longer than before to reach the sad cabin. We hauled him onto his bed, Jack falling asleep almost immediately. Dr. Hardy got some water from the well outside, Jack not even having a kitchen or a bathroom in his house. He forced Jack to sit up and drink it, then left him be. There was a knock on the open door. I looked over and saw a squinty-eyed old man with dark hair and an anchor tattoo on his arm, a towel around his shoulders.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Ah, I was just checking out what was going on here. I saw Dr. Hardy getting some water at the well and the door was open. I live about ten feet away in the cabin over there," he pointed out to the right.

"Oh. I'm Jill, Jack's twin," I said. The man nodded.

"I know about you," he said, walking over to where I sat next to Jack on the bed.

"Oh, did Jack talk about me?" I asked. The man smiled, causing his eyes to squint even more.

"Not your brother Jack. Your father. I knew him very well once upon a time," he said. My eyebrows raised.

"You knew my father?"

"Yes. My name's Takakura. I was actually good friends with his father, your grandfather. I haven't seen your father since he ran away, but he still writes to me," Takakura said. I couldn't hide the shock on my face.

"My father ran away? I mean, he's told me that his own father was a little overbearing but I didn't think he had run away," I said. Takakura nodded.

"Keith, your grandfather, had always been very strict, but that wasn't what had caused your father to run away. It was when Keith died that Jack didn't want the responsibility of keeping up the family farm. So, he ran away to Mineral Town to work with the blacksmith Saibara. But, it didn't work out for Jack, so he ran away to the other side of Abra Island, where he was pressured to save an entire town through farming. That's why your brother's here now. Your father wanted him to save what was left of the farm he had abandoned," Takakura finished. Wow, was not exactly expecting an entire history here.

"So this is my grandfather's farm? And Jack totally failed because he's an idiot," I pointedly said the last part loudly to my brother's sleeping form. I kept staring at him.

"Are you only here to visit?" Takakura asked. I sighed and shook my head.

"I was planning on living here. But I'm weak and sick. I was expecting to just help out by feeding chickens or watering a couple plants or something. Not totally rejuvenating an entire farm," I said, my frustration clear.

"Goddess, this is stressful," I continued, holding my head in my hands. Dr. Hardy pat me on the head roughly.

"Oh, come on Jill. You're not as weak as everyone makes you think. You can help your brother by a lot," he said. I looked up at him, trying to hold back tears. I was just so frustrated.

"I don't know. . ." I muttered. I shook my head.

"Jill, this farm is doomed anyway. You might as well take what is already destined to fail and change its outcome. There is nothing much worse you can do to this farm," Takakura said. I bit my lip. That kind of helped.

"I guess I can try," I said. Takakura smiled.

"I'm happy to hear that."

I smiled a little back.

"I guess I'll go visit while this shlop rots away," I said, getting up. I stepped outside, looking around.

"This place is awful," I muttered, walking down the path towards the town once more.

"Do you need me to walk you around, Jill?" Takakura called out.

"I'm good!" I called. I didn't really want to start out my new life having my hand held already. I wanted as much independence as I could get without killing me. I decided to go to the bar first to apologize to that girl. I walked into the building, and the girl was there again. When she saw me, she looked downwards.

"Welcome," she squeaked out. I walked up to the bar, sitting down.

"Could I just get water please?" I asked. She nodded, making sure not to look at me. She quickly got me a glass of water, condensation proving that it was icy. I dragged it closer to me, but didn't take a sip yet.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. I was just really shocked to see my brother wasting away like that," I said, quiet. The girl smiled sadly.

"You're his sister?" she asked in the same volume. I scoffed.

"Unfortunately. His twin, even better," I said. She seemed intrigued by this bit of information.

"Wow, I wouldn't have thought it but now that you say it, it's a little too obvious," I grimaced a little at that.

"Do I really resemble him so?" I asked.

"Oh no, no, it's only your faces. I can already tell there's quite a lot of difference between you two," I laughed a little.

"Well that's a relief. We better hope so if I'm expected to save that goddess-forsaken farm," I finally took a big gulp from the glass of water.

"You're taking over the farm?" the blonde asked. I nodded, pressing my thumb to the roof of my mouth. I had a brain freeze.

"Don't expect much though," I said through my thumb. The girl giggled.

I took out my thumb, looking at her.

"So, um, I'm Jill," I said.

"Muffy," the girl said. I smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Muffy," I replied. She nodded, smiling.

"Yes, nice to meet you."

I really liked this Muffy girl. We had been talking for hours, mostly about all of her failed boyfriends and careers, but she still had this inherent kindness and humor about her. I had never really had a friend my own age before, although Muffy was a couple years older.

"So now you're living with this older guy Griffin?" I asked. He had walked in before and introduced himself to me, but went into the back room, which I now knew was their own rooms.

"Yeah," Muffy replied, giggling a little. I smiled.

"And you guys are dating now, or. . .?" Muffy's eyes grew wide.

"NO! No, no, no, not at all. He's, like, a decade older than me," she said, waving her arms around.

"Oh, so then is there anyone you like?" I asked. Muffy's look grew pensive.

"Well, not really. I mean, there's this guy named Marlin that's pretty cute. And honestly, Jack's pretty good-looking, too. But I don't really see myself with either of them. Especially Marlin because he's obviously in love with the other farmer's daughter, Celia. He's really over-protective of her because she's so sickly," Muffy explained.

"I feel like I don't like the guy already. And Jack's gross, what the hell?" I said. Muffy shook her head, smiling.

"Oh, Marlin's not bad at all. He can be a little mean but he's really sweet. I've known him for a couple of years now. And I can't help it if I think Jack's cute. Besides, I just told you I don't really see myself with him. Plus, you should take my finding him cute a compliment, since you're twins," she winked. I laughed.

"I guess so, yeah," I replied. Muffy laughed a little with me. Suddenly, a bunch of people came in at once, surprising me. I had been the only other person in here for hours. I looked outside, and was surprised at how much darker the sky had become. I looked at the clock above the door.

"Six o'clock?!" I exclaimed. I had been here for somewhere around eight hours, or something. My goddess. Muffy giggled.

"Yeah, we've been talking for a really long time."

"Yeah, just a little bit," I said, still shocked. The people sat down next to me, all but one looking at me. There were two almost identical old guys, some weird-looking blonde guy, and an orange-haired girl with glasses, the only one looking preoccupied with something else.

"Hey Muffs," the blonde guy said, waving her over. Muffy smiled and went over to him.

"Yes Rock?" she said. He leaned in.

"Who's the chic?" he whispered loudly. I raised an eyebrow. He glanced over at me and saw me looking, causing him to wink. That shocked me. Muffy giggled.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"No, no, introduce me," he adjusted his little white vest thing.

"Everyone, this is Jill. Jill, this is Kasey, Patrick, Rock, and Flora," Muffy smiled at me.

"Hello," I said, waving. The old guys looked like they were inspecting me intently. I gave Muffy a look, pleading to be rescued. She shook her head, making a reassuring little gesture with her hands.

"Um, can I help you?" I asked. I saw Rock slap Muffy on the shoulder lightly, complaining about something.

"Do you like fireworks?" one of them suddenly asked, voice gruff.

"Um, I don't . . . really know. . ."

"Do you not know . . . what they are?" the other asked, sounding incredulous. I couldn't remember which one was which.

"Well . . . no, not exactly. I've only read about them," I said. The twins shook their head.

"Unbelievable," they muttered together, and started whispering to each other, glancing over at me every few seconds. Muffy came back over to me.

"Rock's too insecure to introduce himself," she said. Rock yelped.

"Muffy! I keep telling you! Introduction! Like 'oh have you met Rock? I would go out with him but I'm too busy shacking up with some old guitar player I'm completely in love with', you know? Something like that," he said. Muffy ran over to him and smacked him on the head.

"Shut up, you idiot," she said. Suddenly, Griffin came in.

"Sorry, Muffy, I was in the bathroom," he said, taking his position behind the bar as well. Muffy shook her head, biting her lip a little.

"O-oh, it's fine, Griffin," she said. Rock wiggled his eyebrows and she glared at him. She went over to the girl named Flora, asking her what she wanted. Flora looked like she was being brought back to a different reality. She answered quietly and Muffy nodded, getting her drink. I decided to leave and try to get some rest.

"I'm going to head out, Muffy," I said. Muffy looked around quickly and waved, smiling big.

"Alrighty, Jill, take care!" she called as I left.

It was really starting to get chilly. The spring still had some frosty bites left in the early and late hours of the day. A quick wind blew and caused me to hold my arms, rubbing up and down and jumping a little. I walked to Jack's house. Well, our house now. I walked in quickly, the room dark and abandoned, save for a snoring Jack. I groaned. I wasn't going to get a lot of sleep with his snoring every night. I'd have to work on getting that fixed very soon. Maybe I could sleep in the chicken coop, if it didn't look right near to falling with the slightest gust of wind. I turned on a light, which was only a single bulb in the middle of the room that didn't illuminate much.

I didn't know where I was going to sleep. Maybe the chicken coop really was my only choice. There was no way I could sleep with his loud snoring. I shrugged, going to one of my suitcases and pulling out a blanket. I went to my brother's bed and stole a pillow, then went to the trunk at the foot of his bed. I grabbed a bunch of his clothes and stacked them on top of both the stolen pillow and my blanket. I looked all around for a flashlight, but only found some matches and a small candle in my brother's toolbox. I went outside, opening the door with some difficulty, but managing, and turned off the light with my nose.

The night had descended quickly with only a very little amount of light left. I stumbled toward the outline of fragile structure in front of me. I opened the chicken coop's door cautiously, expecting some onslaught of chickens, or something. I peered in, the dark coop silent. I put down my makeshift bedding carefully onto the dirt so I could take out a match and light the candle I had put in a jar, but I only got very little light from the small flame. I didn't immediately see anything, so I just decided to kick in my bedding and closed the door, trying to suppress the fear at being in a dark room with unknown contents. I looked around, and saw little nests and a shipping box, but no chickens anywhere in the yellow hay. I shrugged, turning around back to my bedding. Suddenly, I heard a very small chirp.

It was freaking adorable.

I turned around, trying to illuminate the little nests once more, looking extra carefully. In the third nest I inspected, there was a very small, yellow chick. Its little black eyes blinked and another small chirp came from the little creature. I swear I almost freaking exploded, the damned thing was so cute. Honestly, nothing I had ever seen had been so cute. I immediately cooed and put down the candle on one of the nests' wooden frame. I took the little chick into my hands carefully, taking a closer look.

Another chirp sounded, and I squeaked a little. I couldn't handle it. It was a very small chirp, though, and a closer revealed some crusty eyes. I think it was sick. It was shaking, almost unnoticeable because it was so quick. My heart broke and burst all at the same time.

"Oh darling. . ." I whispered. I put it to my cheek, then kissed it.

"Don't worry," I continued, "I'll take care of you, little chirpy."

I don't know why I called it that, but I just went with it. I went over to my bedding and made my bed right next to the nest with the chirpy little bird. I put down my brother's clothes and his pillow, then lay down with my blanket on top of me. I closed my eyes, sighing as I thought of all the days ahead.

"At least I have you to help me start out, little chirpy," I mumbled sleepily. There was no response. I sat up and looked at the little bird, heart racing. It didn't die, did it? I realized I had forgotten to snuff out the candle. I inspected the chick, and saw that it had simply fallen asleep, its little body breathing. I smiled, relieved, and blew out the candle.


	5. Chapter 5

There was a woman talking, her words muffled but bright. I kept listening, trying to make out her words, who she was. I suddenly was able to make out her phrases faintly.

". . .won't do any work whatsoever, just like her brother," there was some other little voices that responded, but were too quiet.

"If something isn't done, the Harvest King will surely punish them. Dia asked my sister to make sure that her children would lead successful lives, to work with passion, but if Jack already has no work ethic whatsoever, then I doubt Jill will be any different. . ." the other voices were too small to make out what they were saying exactly, but it sounded like they were talking about not giving up or drawing conclusions.

"It's impossible," the woman laughed a little. "I'll just tell Marina that it's hopeless."

"What are you saying?!" a booming voice sounded from out of nowhere.

"Oh no, the Harvest King. . ." the woman muttered.

"Harvest King?" one of the little voices called out.

"Quitting already?! That's so like you to disappoint us so with your indolence, Aleia. You call yourself a Harvest Goddess? You always give up without really trying!"

"It's not like I can make someone work if they don't want to, Father," the woman named Aleia snapped.

"It's your duty now to figure it out! You're a goddess! You're starting to loaf on the job in your old age!"

"W-what?! Age has nothing to do with it you big baldy! And if it did, you're much older than I am, you old coot!" the ground shook violently.

"B-Baldy? W-why you! You've crossed the line! Take this as your punishment!" a loud crack sounded.

"You're a mean Harvest King! Change her back!" a small voice called out again.

"That's why people call you names like 'baldy'!" another said.

"Baldy! BALDY!" yet another mocked

"Silence! You all are to blame, too! You all need to reflect on what you did!" another mini-earthquake shook the earth, and with it another, much louder crack.

**(A/N: Yeah yeah it's pretty much the same as the opening scene in the game but whatever. I'm lazy. So sue me [do not sue me please].)**

* * *

". . . Wake up," a harsh voice sounded. I blearily opened my eyes, a bright morning sun slapping me in the face and blinding me. I groaned, rolling over. I hadn't exactly spent my best night ever. It was a restless sleep that I had had, leaving me in a bitter mood. I looked at the person in front of me, a stranger with crazy light blonde hair and glowing red eyes. I was still too tired to be freaked out.

"Good, you're awake. I have a message from the Harvest King," the girl said. I blinked.

"What?" I muttered.

"Here," she said, holding out a letter. I took it slowly, opening the simple piece of folded paper.

_Daughter of Dia,_

_The Harvest Goddess and the Harvest Sprites have been punished because your brother didn't work and caused you to be doubted. They've been sent away to another dimension. If you work hard and achieve your goals, proving yourself to fulfill your mother's wishes, I will return the Harvest Sprites and the Harvest Goddess to this dimension once more to grant you many wishes. To aid you, two Harvest Sprites at the Harvest Sprite Station and Guts at Harvest Sprite, Inc. shall be at your disposal. Do your best._

_Signed,_

_Harvest King_

"Is this some weird prank to welcome the new girl or something?" I asked, still groggy. The girl scoffed.

"If only. If you just go to the Harvest Sprite tree, you'll get your unfortunate proof. Unfortunate proof of how I'm going to be lonely now that I have nobody to argue with. Little bimbo had to go off and babble off her nonsense," the girl sighed. "Anyway, work really hard, eat your vegetables, la-dee-da, all that good stuff. I'm gonna go to bed now. Find me next to Lumina's mansion if you wanna turn into a frog or give me a toadstool or you wanna fight needlessly, I don't know. Just don't expect much help from me, 'kay? I'm really only a messenger for the old coot here," the girl poofed out of existence before I could even say anything.

"What the hell?" I mumbled.

I suddenly heard a little chirp, though, and looked at the source, smiling and patting the little chick on the head. I got up, stretching almost painfully, and headed out of the little coop. It was really bright outside, much later than my normal waking hour of seven. I walked over to my brother's cabin, expecting him to be gone, but when I opened the door, it revealed that he had in fact stayed in bed this entire time. I sighed for what had to be the hundredth time in the past  _day_ , shuffling over to my hopeless twin.

I slapped him awake. He moaned, rolling over and looking up at me.

"Hey," he croaked.

"Mhmm," I said. I walked out of the cabin and went to get him some water from the little rock pond, taking some for myself and bringing some back to him, both in glasses he had lying around. The little shit had fallen asleep, though. I slapped him again and forced him to drink the water.

"You're hopeless," I said, shaking my head.

"Jus' a lil' bit," he mumbled, covering his eyes with an arm. I went over to my suitcase with my medications, and gulped them down with the water. I put down my glass on his bedside table and sat down next to him on the bed. I brushed his hair back.

"Why didn't you ask for more help right away?" I asked.

"I did. . ." he replied.

"You told us we should come visit," I said.

"Yeah."

"That's not exactly saying 'hey I need some extra help starting out'. What did you expect when we came to visit? Dad deciding to stay and do all the hard work? He's already busy doing all of that at home."

My brother was silent.

"I just don't know, okay? Jill, can I just sleep some more, please? I think I can get more rest when I know you're here."

He sounded absolutely pathetic. It wasn't how I remembered my brother at all. I guess he had never failed so badly. I got up, rolling my eyes.

"Whatever," I muttered on my way out. I went to the phone, looking at the directory and dialing the number I needed.

"Yodel Farm, how can I help you?" a man sounded.

"I need some animal medicine," I said.

"Alrighty, we'll get that to you by tomorrow," he said. "Is that all?"

"Yes," I said, and hung up quickly. I headed out the door.

"I'm leaving," I said. My brother groaned in response.

I did just as I said I would. I decided to meet some other people in the town, almost afraid of all the characters I would meet, but I decided it should distract me from the thought of this "Harvest Sprite Tree" nonsense. I couldn't help it though. I knew the curiosity would kill me. I decided to ask Muffy later.

* * *

I was exhausted. I dragged my feet through the Blue Bar, plopping down on a bench. Muffy greeted me with a smile.

"Hi, Jill," she said.

"Hey, Muffy," I replied, smiling back a little.

"Can I get some water?" I asked. I kind of felt bad for not spending any money here yet, but I would get to it one day when I could actually scrape up some money. Muffy got me a glass, all smiles and no worries. At least none that she let on about. I knew for a fact that she had plenty to worry about, but the good thing about her was that she knew how to deal with her problems the way everyone should. I drank some water, but not as much as I thought I had wanted. I leaned my head against my hand, pursing my lips a little as I touched a drop making its way down the glass.

"Muffy. . ." I waited for her reply before talking. Muffy looked at me expectantly. When I didn't say anything, she spoke up.

"What is it, Jill?"

"I'm sorry if I sound kind of insane asking this, but do you know something about a Harvest Sprite Tree?" Muffy's face grew pensive.

"Um, well I don't know if it's an  _actual_  Harvest Sprite Tree, but there is a tree that the kids here have always talked about. The only problem is that there are so many trees here that I can't remember which one. Maybe if you ask Hugh or Kate? Have you met them yet?" I sighed a little.

"Yeah, as far as I know, I've met everyone in town. Quite the interesting bunch, I must say. Although they all seem nice," I said. Muffy giggled.

"I think that's how it is in every town, right? The world would be boring if it weren't."

I laughed a little.

"You're right, this whole world's all screwed up and weird," I took a sip of water, even though I wasn't really thirsty anymore.

"You know, I think I should go home and check on my brother," I said. I decided to give Muffy a very very small tip of 50 G.

"I swear I'll give you more when I make more," I said, guilty.

"Oh, no. No, no, Jill, you take every coin you can get. There's no way I'm taking any," she said.

"Muffy," I looked at her pointedly.

"Please," I said. She shook her head. I sighed and took the money back.

"One day I'm going to give you the biggest tip you've ever had," I said. Muffy laughed.

"You need to make sure you're brother's not dying first," she said. I snorted.

"Yeah…" I got up and headed out, waving to Muffy. I made my way onto the paved trail back home. It was getting dark already, so I quickened my pace, especially because it was becoming chilly once more. I rushed into the dark house, turning on the small light. Jack wasn't in his bed. I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to bother trying to figure out where in the world he was now. I decided this was as good a time as any to try to figure out the whole "harvest sprites" thing.

I looked around, walking up to a trunk at the foot of Jack's bed. I dug through for some sort of long-sleeve, taking out a big denim jacket. Goddess, I kind of hated denim. It was too constricting. But I didn't feel like looking through the big pile of musty clothes, so I just shrugged it on, stepping outside. The slight cold was much better now. I went down the hill, deciding to go right, for once. I wasn't too eager to go and visit some random vanishing girl, but the whole situation was going to bother me to no end. I had only been to the grand mansion on the hill once, to meet the inhabitants. If I remember, the woman was a Ms. Romara or Romanov or something, with her granddaughter Luna. Lunella? Oh my goddess, I don't know why I couldn't remember these people's names. I'd get it down eventually. I had totally ignored the little shed on the left side of the house, though. Well, left when walking towards it straight on.

It had become completely dark at this point, so it was kind of hard to see. There was a glow from the mansion's lit up windows, though, so I could see the shed's outline. A whispering voice sounded from its direction. I walked closer to hear.

"ξουρЖπΑ…" my eyebrows met in confusion. I walked up to the structure, the door now visible.

"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha… XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…"

I knocked. I know, smart. I guess that's just how I roll. Hear some odd chants, knock on the door to check it out. A long silence followed, perhaps for a couple of minutes. I grew uneasy. I was about to leave when the door creaked open. There was a magenta glow coming from the otherwise dark room. I stood at the doorstep, wide-eyed, thoroughly creeped out.

"Come on, Jill, you're letting the cold air in," a voice echoed. I assumed it to be the same girl as before. I stepped in to the ominous-looking room… for some reason. The door closed behind me and the room became even darker, despite the large glow coming from the middle of the room. Soon, though, my eyes adjusted and the glow either actually became brighter or just appeared to do so. I could see the girl behind whatever was glowing. I could now see that it was in some sort of giant vase, or bowl, or something.

"Come closer, Jill, jeez," I complied. I now saw that it was a cauldron. How… witch-like…

"Um," I said lamely.

"You… don't happen to be a witch, right?" I asked. The girl scoffed.

"You don't miss much, do you?" she said sarcastically. I was taken aback.

"W-what? You mean? I-I can't believe—"

"Oh, Jill, I know this is all new and stuff but can we get past all the shock and revelation or whatever on meeting a witch? I wanna get to the good stuff, already," she said.

"U-um… sure. I guess. Can—can I at least ask some questions?" the girl sighed.

"Fine, but make it quick. I'll only answer a couple."

"Okay, well, um. What's your name, at least?" I asked.

"You can just call me Witch Princess, okay? You're not worthy of my real name," she said, stirring what was in the cauldron.

"Oh, well. I guess that answers my other question. I know that witch elites don't like giving their names," I said. I wanted to make sure I didn't sound ignorant and offensive, so as not to face any curses or anything.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Enough being all nosy and shit. Now, I imagine you have some questions? To get the old hag back? I'm already dying of boredom and you're taking forever, so just ask me whatever to get you started. Have you even gone to the Harvest Sprite Tree yet?"

"Yeah, I was going to ask you about that. I don't know where it is," the witch stared at me, unblinking.

"Are you shitting me?" she finally asked.

"Um…no?" I said.

"Oh my shit, Jill, that's the most basic thing you need to know. It's just next to the goddess pond, right next to the hill where your farm is at. It's a big tree, with crystals all around it. You can't miss it."

I sucked in my lips. I made a smacking sound.

"Well…that's good to know, then," I said. The witch shook her head.

"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha… XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…"

"Um, do you want me to leave?" I asked.

"Not yet, Jill. Calm down," she said.

"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…" I stood there awkwardly, watching as whatever was in the cauldron bubbled.

"XiOmicron…UpsilonRho…ZhePiAlpha…"

"XIOMICRON…UPSILONRHO…ZHEPI—ALPHA!" the cauldron's bubbles grew larger, all popping quickly with a sizzling sound. There was a glow around the witch princess now, and she looked like she was breathing in the glow, or something. Her hands held onto the cauldron, and her eyes glowed the same color as whatever was in the cauldron, changing from their originally fierce red.

"GAAAAHHHHHHH!" she exclaimed. I jumped, stepping back. The witch slumped where she stood, the glow fading.

"Lux…" she whispered. The room was immediately illuminated by many little candles, all actually quite powerful. She sighed, and kicked the cauldron. The giant metal container didn't move at all. It was bigger than the bed I now saw in the corner. The rest of the room only consisted of bookcases, full of books, viles, and bottles. Books were also strewn about the floor of the stone shed, haphazardly set down.

The witch princess just stared at the cauldron.

"Why…" she whispered.

"Why does the Harvest Goddess always complain about everything? I mean sure, every now and then I bully the Harvest Sprites, break up a few sweethearts, destroy crops, make animals sick, and she gets so pissed about it! I'm just having a little fun! Adding a little chaos to the world to balance it all out. And now…now she goes off and gets herself banished, by blabbing her stupid mouth to someone other than me! Her own father, for fuck's sake! And I mean, why does she think she's such a "good girl" or whatever? It just pisses me off that she's so self-righteous!" the witch was pacing frantically at this point. She suddenly stopped though, looking at me.

"Well? Don't you hear what I'm saying? Wouldn't something like that piss you off?"

"W-well, I mean. I haven't met her, or anything. But I'm sure that that could easily be annoying," I offered. The witch nodded, then laughed.

"Yes! Yes! I knew it! You and I should get along swimmingly, Jill," the witch cackled.

"Yes, yes. Now, Jill," the witch took down a crystal ball.

"I'm afraid I have some pressing matters now, but please feel free to come back whenever. And remember, I'm not joking about bringing me toadstools, red grass, gold lumber, even rainbow curry. If you give me rainbow curry I will possibly fall in love with you, though, so fair warning," the witch laughed yet again. She was starting to scare me a bit, but I couldn't help but feel like there was something I really liked about her. I chuckled a little. I made my way to the door, bracing myself for the change in temperature.

I rushed out, and suddenly heard screaming. I ran to the mansion, stopping dead in my tracks as I saw some weirdo with silver hair right in front of me. They looked at me from across the fountain. The stars were reflected in the water, sparkling as the droplets of the fountain bounced about in a rush of multiple jets. The person's face was obscured by the water, and they were just standing there. I moved to the side slowly, trying to see their face. I stopped when I saw it in its entirety. I think it was a man.

He was beautiful…in a strange, slightly unsettling way. He was all glow and… almost ethereal. His green eyes, his pale skin, his silver hair. They were all glowing. I couldn't tell if it was the moon's fault, or not. I kind of hoped it was. I looked the man over. Honestly, it was the worst outfit I'd probably seen put together. At least on someone this… _pretty_. I especially hated his gray and black animal print little sweater. I hated animal print. It was so tacky. I heard the man chuckle.

"Hello, beautiful," he said. I immediately felt annoyance and embarrassment.

"What the hell?" was my response. He raised his eyebrow a little, walking towards me, encircling the large fountain, blurring his face once again.

"Out for a little… walk by yourself… at night?" he whispered the last part. I raised my eyebrow. I remained silent. The guy chuckled again, looking up at the sky.

"I see that my beauty has paralyzed yet another maiden. I guess I won't need to be using any…special powers on you."

"What are you, a witch or something?" I asked. He laughed, now in front of me.

"Oh, I wish, darling. I wish," he smiled, canines defined, leaning down to meet my eyes. It was only then I had realized he was at least a head taller than me. I think I stopped breathing at one point, unable to tell if I was scared or seduced or whatever. I didn't like it, either way.

"Hey! Aren't you that thief? Phantom Skye?" a shrill voice called out, and we both looked to see the girl, Luna or Luni or whatever, standing at the doorway, face red. I whirled around back to the man.

"Yes, yes, dear. Phantom Skye. Prince of the Stars. Take your pick," he grinned slyly.

"You're a thief?" I accused. This Phantom Skye guy did a little salute, a sparkling necklace held in his hands.

"Oh it's just a little trinket for now… it'll be your heart, later…" I couldn't tell who he was talking to, but it seemed to be the both of us. I didn't know how to respond. I had never met anyone like him. I had never even met a  _thief_ , actually.

"Pardon my tomfoolery, ladies. I'm a little pressed for time, now, though. I'm sure we'll see each other again, though. It's written in the stars, after all. Gotta jet," he waved, still smiling. I grabbed him by the arm. The girl came rushing over, presumably to help me out.

"Wait right there!" she yelled. The thief looked at us, his gaze growing gentler.

"Now, now, ladies. Don't let such raw anger steal away your beauty," Lun-Lum-whatever visibly blushed and started sputtering, and I just held onto him, still not sure how to respond to his little antics. He whispered something very quietly. He winked at the girl, and then at me, and then slipped out of my grip, quickly running away into the trees. I don't know why I hadn't been able to move, but it freaking pissed me off.

"I-I don't know what just happened," I said. I looked at my hand, moving closer to my face. What was that all about? Did that just really happen? I just realized how quickly my heart was racing. I had never faced anything so different, so exciting, so  _dangerous_. Well, I guess it wasn't that dangerous, really, but it was really the closest I'd come to any sort of crime or anything. It was… absolutely exhilarating!

"Oh my goddess… I can't believe he just got away like that. He was so charming, I couldn't even move. I'm so embarrassed…" the girl mumbled. I felt kind of bad for her. She seemed to be a pretty nice girl, just a little spoiled. I also felt bad for not knowing her name.

"Miss Lumina!" a man called out from the mansion. I quietly thanked the man for reminding me of her name. I diligently etched it into my memory.

"Lumi!" the old woman called, as well. They both came out, all in their elderly glory. If I remember correctly, the old guy was just a butler.

"Oh, Sebastian, oh grandmother!" Lumina said. She sounded so sad.

"He got away with the locket!" she lamented. Her grandmother patted her on the head, having taken her into a hug

"Mrs. Romana, would you like me to go and chase the thief?" the butler asked. I was really liking this guy. He was reminding me of the things I was wanting to know, without me asking. Mrs. Romana shook her head.

"No, no, Sebastian, we'll find him eventually. Besides, it would be far too dangerous. You know that," she said. I guess I was right about the slight danger factor. Although I'm sure the biggest danger was this old guy wandering around in the dark, especially with the threat of wild dogs. But whatever.

"Oh, Jill, are you alright?" Lumina asked. I nodded.

"Of course, don't worry about me," I said. She nodded as well.

"Good, good. I'm so glad you were here. I would've been a lot more scared if you weren't. I wouldn't have been so brave. Although he did get away, at least we tried, right?" she asked. I laughed a little, nervously.

"Yeah…" I replied quietly. Lumina smiled.

"I'm going to go home now, then," I said.

"Oh, no, no, Jill, you mustn't. It's too late now. It's dark, and the thief is out there. It's much better if you stay here for the night. Right, Grandmother?" Lumina asked. Mrs. Romana smiled.

"Of course, dear. Come, come," she said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Romana, thank you Lumina, but I really don't want to be a bother. I'm just right down the path," I said.

"Oh, nonsense, dear, it's much more than just 'down the path'. And just call me Romana, otherwise I feel like an old bat," she chuckled. I laughed a little with her. The women led me into the mansion. Lumina took me up the stairs and into her bedroom, which was, of course, big and beautiful, and surprisingly classy. I had expected more craziness, or something, to go with her effervescent personality. But, looking at her clothes and talking to her a little more, it became a little more obvious that she was actually quite an elegant woman in the making, at the very least. I decided I really did like her. She had Sebastian take down a mattress and some bedding, insisting that we have a "sleepover". I had to admit, it was comforting being back in an environment like this. I was still worried about the little chick, though. But there wasn't much more I could do until medicine arrived.

We talked for maybe an hour or so, but eventually Lumina fell asleep. In my borrowed silk gown and rather fine bed linens that smelled like lavender, a smell I now know made me homesick, it was easy and quick to soon follow.

* * *

**OH MY GOD HOW DO YOU EVEN WRITE SKYE I DID NOT REALIZE HOW FREAKING HARD IT WAS LIKE**

**I'm kinda making him super duper creepy I think**

**Although my thinking right now is that of a burnt out student that just did standardized testing all day and has written until 2:30 a.m. while having barely slept the night before AMI IEVEN MAKING SENSE IN THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER? WHATEVER.**

**Okay well yeah. Please review. Any suggestions for not making Skye a total facking weirdo creep thing? I'll sit on it all I guess. I'll come back to edit another day maybe. Whatever. #swaggie**

**God help me**


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